The present invention relates to systems and methods for registration of artillery fire.
It is common known to perform target registration for artillery fire in order to correct for off-target aiming errors such as are due to environmental variables. This process is particularly needed for beyond visible targets (e.g., behind a hill or in a valley) where an intuitive hit-and-miss approach is not feasible.
The common procedure for target registration requires a human observer in a lookout position able to see the target region, equipped with a rangefinder, GPS and north-finding system (e.g. a compass). The registration process is an iterative one in which the observer observes the impact of a number of shells, typically 3-6 shells, each time identifying the location (geographical coordinates) of the impact and reporting to the artillery controller. A mean point of impact (MPI) is then determined, which is used together with the intended target location to determine a correction which can be used for subsequent shells aimed at the same target or other targets in the same target region.
This process is problematic for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is dependent on having a person with suitable equipment deployed in direct view of the targets, which may not be feasible or which may unnecessarily endanger personnel. Secondly, it requires close cooperation and intensive communication between the artillery operator and the observer, rendering the process labor intensive and slow. Thirdly, this approach cannot readily be used where multiple artillery pieces are firing against a common target due to the likely ambiguity between different shells fired around the same time.
There is therefore a need for an alternative system and method for performing artillery target registration.